OK, I sort of get it, but then again I sort of don't. I am trying though. Can someone please explain what I should do to get the most of this service. I get the Web Call back but not the free SIP calls. I am also producing a self help web site so everything I learn here will be reproduced to help others.

Now I have read other long posts and I know they can be boring, but I would really appreciate some answers.

BTW, I am an Engin VoIPer customer with an unlocked SPA-3000.

Here's what I have done.
1) I have set up my own VoXaLot number. Now what can I (should I) do with it? Can people call me using this number? Why would I want them to do that, given that they already have my PSTN and Engin DID number. BTW, I have set up ENUM (see below).

2) I have registered my PSTN and Engin DID at e164.org to be redirected to my Engin DID number. Is this the best thing to do? Reading on this forum, I am beginning to think that I should route the calls to my VoXaLot number. Should I make this change? If so, why? What is the benefit of doing this?

My understanding is that by registering at e164.org, anyone that uses a participating VSP (ie one that checks for ENUM) will be able to call me for free. Is this correct? I also assume that their is no saving to me, but then again you have to contribute so others can save. Is this also correct?

Now Engin doesn't allow inbound SIP calls which doesn't affect me but does prevent others (not on the Engin network) from calling me for free. So is there anything here at Voxalot that gets around this? If so what and how?

3) I have set up my SPA-3000 to use VoXaLot and added <#1,:>[x*][x*].<:@gw1> to my dial plan. I have tested this and it works. Now how should I use this in normal life? Should I send every call through to Voxalot, or should I only send calls to people that have a DID from a VSP other than Engin? ie I can call Engin to Engin free anyway. I assume if I send every call to Voxalot, that Voxalot will route the calls for me. I have registered Engin in the setup at Voxalot as per the instructions, but haven't added any dial plans. If I am to send all calls to Voxalot first (other than 000 etc that are coded in my SPA-3000 dial plan), then I assume I could remove the <#1,:> from my SPA dial plan and hence send all calls to Voxalot. Once again, please confirm if this is what I should do to get the most from this service.

Edit: So given all this, why do I need SIP broker? Should I route any calls through SIP broker or should I just use Voxalot?

1) I have set up my own VoXaLot number. Now what can I (should I) do with it?

What do you want to do with it?

Voxalot can be your main VoIP provider (using the other providers via Voxalot), or you can just use Voxalot for those things your current VoIP company doesn't do. Since either way works, it's mostly a "ease of setup" and "personal preference" issue.

At the present time, I'm personally just using Voxalot for those things that are "Voxalot only". But I can do that, as I own an SPA-3000, which allows for lots of VoIP accounts to be setup "at the same time" (provided you can handle the advanced config "tricks" on that adapter). So I really don't gain much by routing all call through Voxalot, and therefore only route "Voxalot specific" calls via Voxalot.

However, its also possible to make Voxalot your main VoIP provider, and then have Voxalot let you access your other VoIP accounts via the Voxalot "dial plans" and "providers". And this is very handy for those people with adapters that can't handle as many VoIP accounts as my SPA-3000 can. And it's also handy for those people who just want a "central location" to manage all their VoIP accounts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

Can people call me using this number?

If you either: A) "Register" your VoIP adapter with Voxalot, or better yet B) "Forward" your Voxalot account to some SIP URI that will "ring" your adapter, than "yes".

Specifically, while your Voxalot "number" isn't a "real number" (i.e. can't be called from the telco directly), it can be reached by: 1) Anyone on Voxalot itself (just dial the Voxalot number), 2) Anyone on a VoIP service that "peers" with Voxalot (for example: "SIP Broker" users can dial: *010voxalot_number ), and 3) Anyone that can reach a service that "peers" with Voxalot (for example, people could use these SIP Broker PSTN dialin numbers to reach you from a normal phone: http://www.sipbroker.com/sipbroker/action/pstnNumbers ).

But again, the point is that for any such "call me", you either need to "register" your adapter with Voxalot (i.e. no SPA-3000 "gateways", or similar "tricks"), or you need to forward your account to some SIP URI that will "ring your adapter" (the latter is the approach I took, to allow Voxalot inbound calls).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

Why would I want them to do that, given that they already have my PSTN and Engin DID number. BTW, I have set up ENUM (see below).

Likewise anyone who can make free VoIP SIP calls (from ANY country) can call your Voxalot number "for free". Which means that someone like me could call your Voxalot number "for free" from my VoIP adapter (assuming you told me your Voxalot number, and had your adapter setup to accept inbound Voxalot calls)(assuming you are setup to receive Voxalot calls). And remember, such calls are FREE, even when another country is being called!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

2) I have registered my PSTN and Engin DID at e164.org to be redirected to my Engin DID number. Is this the best thing to do? Reading on this forum, I am beginning to think that I should route the calls to my VoXaLot number. Should I make this change? If so, why? What is the benefit of doing this?

You want your e164.org number to point to some SIP URI that will actually "ring your VoIP adapter". That could be Voxalot, but it could easily be some other service.

The only real "advantage" I can see to pointing your e164.org number to Voxalot specifically, is that you could then control how the call is handled based upon who is calling you. This would be done, by setting up custom "Forwarding" in Voxalot, based upon the "number" of the person calling.

NOTE: I personally don't bother getting this fancy. In my case, I only have the "default" forwarding rule setup in Voxalot (and forwarded to my SIP Broker "alias", if you were wondering). But the extra fancy "forwarding" is an option (if you have any need/desire for it), if you run your e164.org entry via your Voxalot account.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

My understanding is that by registering at e164.org, anyone that uses a participating VSP (ie one that checks for ENUM) will be able to call me for free. Is this correct?

Sort of.

e164.org doesn't allow your VoIP adapter to be called, if it wasn't callable before. i.e. there has to be a "SIP URI" way to "ring your VoIP phone". And e164.org won't magically give that to you.

What e164.org does, is a lot like an automated "phone book". e164.org allows you to "publish" that the person at some number is also reachable via some specific VoIP call path (and what that path is). As a hypothetical example, lets say my number was 1-555-555-1234 and my VoIP call path is *011188888@sipbroker.com. I could then setup an e164.org record for 1-555-555-1234, and point the entry at sip:*011188888@sipbroker.com. Once I do this, people using an ENUM enabled service trying to dial 1-555-555-1234 would automatically have the call redirected to the free location *011188888@sipbroker.com "for free". But it would still be my responsibility to assure that *011188888@sipbroker.com actually reached my VoIP adapter. All ENUM does, is "publish" the fact that the person who owns telco number 1-555-555-1234 also can be reached by *011188888@sipbroker.com.

NOTE: The above is just an example, to explain how ENUM works. If you actually called those "numbers", you would discover that 1-555-555-1234 is a bogus number (not on the PSTN), and *011188888@sipbroker.com actually reaches a test recording (not my account). But the point is, ENUM doesn't let you receive inbound VoIP call "for free" by itself, it just makes it EASIER (by the "phone book" like features) for others to discover how you can already receive inbound VoIP calls. But this is still very handy, as it means that anyone using an ENUM enabled service, can simply look up in ENUM if there is a free (and "published") VoIP calling route alternative for any given PSTN number.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

I also assume that their is no saving to me, but then again you have to contribute so others can save. Is this also correct?

Yes.

ENUM really helps those trying to call you, more than it helps you. OTOH it helps you some too, as people may be more inclined to call you (and chat longer), if they know that the call will be "free"...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

Now Engin doesn't allow inbound SIP calls which doesn't affect me but does prevent others (not on the Engin network) from calling me for free. So is there anything here at Voxalot that gets around this? If so what and how?

Voxalot does accept inbound SIP calls.

So if you have setup Voxalot to allow inbound calls (i.e. either "register" with Voxalot, or do proper forwarding), than it's easy. In that case, you just let the people call via yournumber@voxalot.com. Or, they could just as easily call via *010yournumber via the SIP Broker service.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

3) I have set up my SPA-3000 to use VoXaLot and added <#1,:>[x*][x*].<:@gw1> to my dial plan. I have tested this and it works. Now how should I use this in normal life? Should I send every call through to Voxalot, or should I only send calls to people that have a DID from a VSP other than Engin?

I would personally only send the calls to people with a DID not on Engin. But that's me, and this is a personal preference thing. And remember, you should be able to setup Voxalot to be able to call via Engin, if that is your wish. So sending all calls to Voxalot (and having Voxalot send some calls onto Engin) is also an option.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

ie I can call Engin to Engin free anyway. I assume if I send every call to Voxalot, that Voxalot will route the calls for me.

It won't happen "by default", but it is an option.

i.e. if you want that to happen, you have to decide how you want Voxalot to do this, and then tell Voxalot to do what you want.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

I have registered Engin in the setup at Voxalot as per the instructions, but haven't added any dial plans.

If you want Voxalot to handle the routing, you NEED to setup those "dial plans" to do what you want. However, if you are planning to handle "Engin" calls directly (from your adapter to Engin), you can ignore this.

The point is, the "routing" that you want/desire Voxalot to do, is controlled by those "dial plan" entries...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

If I am to send all calls to Voxalot first (other than 000 etc that are coded in my SPA-3000 dial plan), then I assume I could remove the <#1,:> from my SPA dial plan and hence send all calls to Voxalot. Once again, please confirm if this is what I should do to get the most from this service.

Again, personal preference. Since the SPA-3000 is one of the more "advanced" of the cheap VoIP adapters, it can directly handle many (but by no means all) of the things that Voxalot would be needed for with a more limited VoIP adapter. So in your case, it's personal preference as to controlling the dialing in your SPA-3000's "dial plan" directly, or doing this with the Voxalot "dial plans" (and routing all calls via Voxalot). Either will work in your case, so its a question about which you prefer.

NOTE: THe SPA-3000 is also my primary VoIP adapter, so I really have a good idea how powerful it is, compared to many of the devices on the market!

Thank you so much for taking the time to give me a detailed response. I have a couple more questions for clarification and next steps.

Based on what you have said, what I would like to get out of Voxalot is:

1) use all the ENUM options available for me so I get maximum free calls. I assume I just route all calls (except those that I want to use PSTN) to Voxalot and then set up a dial plan that routes the unmatched ENUM numbers through Engin.

2) Overcome the issue where Engin wont accept inbound SIP calls to my number. So what is the configuration approach I should take to overcome this?

1) use all the ENUM options available for me so I get maximum free calls. I assume I just route all calls (except those that I want to use PSTN) to Voxalot and then set up a dial plan that routes the unmatched ENUM numbers through Engin.

Sounds plausable. However, I haven't yet played with the Voxalot "dial plans" as much as some of the other Voxalot folks. So I'm the wrong person to ask as to what syntax to use to try ENUM first, and then use "Engin" (your main provider) when the match fails.

Martin? Could you please explain how to setup a Voxalot dial plan to check ENUM first (on all Voxalot calls), and then use the user's provider of choice (in this case Engin) as a "fallback"?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

2) Overcome the issue where Engin wont accept inbound SIP calls to my number. So what is the configuration approach I should take to overcome this?

The "tricky part" is that you will probably want to be "registered" with "Engin" to accept inbound Engin calls (from your Engin DID). And the SPA-3000 only allows one "registered" VoIP provider at a time. So if you are "registered" to "Engin", you can't also be "registered" to Voxalot. And "registering" with Voxalot is the easiest way to accept inbound Voxalot calls.

Does Engin allow "forwarding" of your calls to a "SIP URI" (for example, can you forward your Engin calls to: your_voxalot_number@voxalot.com with Engin)? If so, the easiest way to setup this is:

This should make Voxalot your main "registered" VoIP provider. And since its your main provider, you should be able to get (and make) Voxalot calls (including Voxalot SIP URI calls, directly). And because you forwarded your Engin account to Voxalot's SIP URI, you should be able to receive those calls as well. And for making Engin calls, you can either use your "gateway", or use Engin via a "provider" and "dail plan" on Voxalot.

i.e. this should give you everything. But it will ONLY work, if Engin allows you to "forward" to a SIP URI (otherwise, you will lose the ability to receive Engin inbound calls with this approach). Which brings us to "plan B" (below):

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallycat

Have you actually done this and got it to work? I tried to do it 'quickly' last weekend and the whole thing stopped working. Just want to check before I do it again.

Inbound directly to an SPA-3000 ( http://faq.sipbroker.com/tiki-index....%20or%20Sipura ) do work if you get everything right, but they can be a PITA to do! I know, as I use that approach as my primary way to add additional inbound calls on my line! And remember, with this approach you have to get ALL of the pieces (your VoIP adapter settings, you dynamic DNS service INCLUDING a PC on your LAN doing the "auto update" of your dynamic DNS record, AND your router settings including proper "forwarding" of any needed ports to your SPA-3000) correct, or it won't work! That's why this is an "advanced trick" that is a PITA to setup. But sometimes that "advanced trick" is the only way to cram an extra inbound VoIP account (or ten) onto a SPA-3000!

NOTE: With some routers you only have to forward the SIP port (udp 5060), but some routers require you to also forward the RTP ports (with a SPA-3000 this defaults to the range udp 16384 - 16482, but can be changed on the "SIP" tab of the adapter) as well. In fact, the better (more restrictive) the router's "firewall", the more likely that you will have to forward the RTP port range.

NOTE: Due to the difference between DNS "A" records (what most dynamic DNS services use) and DNS "SRV" records (what some SIP proxies expect, even though many (including Voxalot, IPKall, and SIP Broker) are happy with also using "A" records), you probably still want to use a service (for example Voxalot) that understands both types of DNS records as an intermediary. For example, if your Engin userid (registered on your "Line 1" of your SPA-3000) is "myacct", and your dynamic DNS "domain" turns out to be "Mallycat.no-ip.com", than you would just: A) Set up your "default" forwarding (in Voxalot) to "sip:myacct@Mallycat.no-ip.com", and then just give out "sip:your_voxalot_number@voxalot.com" as your SIP URI to be called. And in that case, you would also list "sip:your_voxalot_number@voxalot.com" as the target for you ENUM entry as well. Of course, all this assumes you already have the correct SPA-3000, router, and Dynamic DNS settings already working. Which is why this "trick" is a PITA to use, but it works great once you finally get all the pieces in place...

FYI: My Voxalot number is forwarded directly to my "direct to my adapter" dynamic DNS SIP URI. And I just used "Web call" to verify that calls to my "Voxalot" number do in fact call my phone! So I know that you can use Voxalot like this (i.e. put your "dynamic DNS SIP URI" as the forwarding location for Voxalot, and thereby receive Voxalot calls, as well as any calls routed via Voxalot's proxy)!

BTW: A good way to test if "inbound calls" (to your adapter) are working is "Web Call". Just try calling your Voxalot number at provider "VoXalot" and then some decent "recording" (for example *011188888 at provider "SIP Broker") as your target. If the inbound calls are setup correctly, your VoIP phone will ring, and when you answer you will hear the recording from the other leg of "Web Call")!

Do you know where I could get step by step instructions to set up the DNS settings at no-ip.com? I have had a look but it seems light on instructions. This is the bit that I haven't done before and hence why it hasn't worked.

2) Add at least one "host" to that account. i.e. make sure you give yourself at least one DNS address.

3) Download and run the free "update" client on any PC on your LAN. This will make sure that your router's IP address is always know (or at least know within a few minutes, each time it changes).

4) Use your dynamic DNS entry as the part after the "@" when having others call you. For example, if you grab "Mallycat" as the "host" (assuming that isn't already taken at NO-IP.com), and choose "no-ip.com" (from their list) as your "domain", then your dynamic (to your adapter) SIP URI is: sip:userid@Mallycat.no-ip.com (where "userid" is whatever you have in the "Line 1" userid field on your VoIP adapter, in your case likely the "userid" you are using with Engin).

NOTE:
Remember, no-ip.com only gives you DNS "A" records, and some VoIP proxies expect "SRV" records. Which is why I recommend you only use this SIP URI with services (such as Voxalot) that understand both types of records. But as soon as you have this working with Voxalot forwarding (so that Voxalot calling will ring your adapter), you can forward other VoIP proxies/accounts (that need the SRV records) to your Voxalot account, to get around that DNS limitation...

It's my understanding that all ENUM checking on VoXaLot is automatic and can't be controlled by the user in any way (there shouldn't be a need for any user intervention).

At the moment, VoXaLot is doing ENUM lookups on the original number it's being passed before any Dial Plan processing takes place. Therefore, the number has to already be in a recognizable format (not a 7-digit number that your Dial Plan is going to add a "1 + area code" to, for example).

VoXaLot will be changed shortly to do ENUM lookups on the number following Dial Plan processing, just before it would otherwise be sent to the provider.

Just to put things in context for people that are not familiar with Australian dialing rules and in the OP's case the state of New South Wales.
Country code: 61
State code: 02
International format: 612
Using PSTN a local call will begin with unknown (I will use 9 in my example)

ENUM lookup has never ben a problem for me since I use VSP's that require a standard International Format for phone numbers and I use ATA's that have dial plans. However in Australia a majority of VSP's require variations of "Local Dialing Rules", this means that the user must present the number to the VSP's as in the OP's case using Engin, numbers starting with the local number eg. 92176000 no area code or country code is required.

An ENUM lookup can easily be achieved by the OP by setting up the SPA3K's dialplan to create the dialstring using 92176000 as an example
|<9:6129>xxxxxxxS0| and then manipulating that string in the VoXaLot dial plan with ${EXTEN:3}. This will do an ENUM and in the event of failure will present the number to the OP's VSP correctly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron

VoXaLot will be changed shortly to do ENUM lookups on the number following Dial Plan processing, just before it would otherwise be sent to the provider.

This will cause major problems for people in the same situation as the OP. If there is no chance to change the dial string into a format that is acceptable by the VSP.

There is also a problem for people that use ATA's that do not have dial plans, where the dial string would need to be changed to International Format for an ENUM lookup and then back to an acceptable format for the VSP
Refer How to setup a dial plan

Perhaps the provider section needs to have a options where the user can setup how the VSP expects the numbers to be presented and then based on the dial pattern VoXaLot could handle the whole thing transparently.